British expat accused of wife's murder tells court she 'begged him' to help her die

A British expat accused of murdering his terminally ill wife in Cyprus has told a court she “cried and begged” him to help end her life.

David Hunter, 75, said his partner Janice, who had blood cancer, pleaded with him for “five or six weeks” before he eventually agreed to grant her wish.

The retired miner held back tears as he told Paphos District Court on Monday: “I didn’t want to do it. I said no.”

But Hunter said he gave in after she became “hysterical” and told him: “I can’t go on.”

Wife’s ‘shame’ at deteriorating condition

Janice, 74, died of asphyxiation in December 2021 at the couple’s home near the coastal resort town of Paphos.

Hunter, originally from Ashington in Northumberland, said the pair had been together for 57 years and described their marriage as “perfect”.

But he said his wife had been housebound for the last three years of her life as her condition deteriorated.

Hunter told the court she felt “shame” from having to wear nappies, had been unable to take care of herself and lost weight after struggling to eat in her final weeks, when the couple were sleeping downstairs together.

“I felt so helpless and hopeless that I couldn’t do anything for her,” said Hunter.

“For five or six weeks before she died, she was asking me to help her. She was asking me more every day.

“In the last week, she was crying and begging me. Every day, she asked me a bit more intensely to do it.

“The last week… she said, ‘I can’t go on. This life isn’t for me. We just go to the hospital and stay at home. I don’t have any quality of life, and I’m totally bored of this. I can’t go on’.

“She started becoming hysterical – so I said, ‘Yes, I’ll help you’.”

‘She did not attempt to stop me’

Hunter told the court he did not remember much of the day his wife died.

He recalled: “I went to make a cup of coffee, and she started crying.”

He said his wife “did not attempt to stop me” from killing her.

Hunter told the court he tried to take his own life after Janice died.

When police arrived to quiz him after the attempt, he told officers he “was interested in nothing”.

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In his cross-examination, state prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou said: “I put it to you that you had decided to kill her and there was no common consent and that you had to decide what day to kill her on.”

Hunter replied: “No. I never intended to kill her. I had hoped for eight or nine days that she would get better, that she would change her mind.

“She was lying down. She was in pain, suffering. I would do anything to help her.

“The last thing on my mind was to take her life. The last thing.”

The trial continues.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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